List of Nations and Factions in Gundam Seed Destiny: Altered
In the Cosmic Era, nation and states of today's Earth have evolved into a number of political superblocs. There are also numerous political factions within many of these blocs or independent of them. PLANTs The PLANTs are a group of twelve "cities" or clusters of hourglass-shaped colonies, located at Lagrange Point 5 in orbit around Earth, and each named after a month in the Roman Calendar. The individual PLANT colonies are 60 kilometers long, with a flat, 10-kilometer circular base at each end, where the colony's living spaces are located. Artificial gravity is provided by the rotation of each colony around its central axis. Each PLANT city consists of twelve individual colonies - except Junius City, which has eleven since the destruction of Junius Seven in an Alliance nuclear attack on 12/14/70, an incident now called the Bloody Valentine Tragedy, ''which lent its name to the subsequent war. The name '''PLANT' is itself an acronym. Originally this stood for P'roductive '''L'ocation 'A'lly on 'N'exus 'T'echnology. After the Bloody Valentine War, the acronym definition was changed to 'P'eople 'L'iberation 'A'cting 'N'ation of 'T'echnology, as the PLANTs established themselves as an independent nation. Each city in the PLANTs has a scientific or industrial specialty. The name of each city, the number of colonies in each as of February 75, and the specialty of each city are as follows: After the First Junius War, a single new colony is built at Lagrange 4, which is a ZAFT military colony known as Armory One. The PLANTs also had several engineering companies that altered their function towards arms manufacture, especially of mobile suits: the Asimov Design Bureau, which created the GINN (later combined with two other, similar firms into Clark, Asimov & Heinlein), Martius Arsenals, and Maius Military Industries. These entities worked closely together to develop the PLANTs' mobile suits, ships, and weapons. After the Bloody Valentine War, they were all merged into a singular body, under the name Integrated Design Bureau. During the Second Junius War, additional colonies in Januarius and December are destroyed by the superweapon Requiem. After the end of the war, the PLANTs, Alliance, and Orb cooperate to begin construction of a thirteenth City in the PLANTs, to be named "Pax", which will replace those destroyed in the two Junius Wars. PLANT Supreme Council The PLANT Supreme Council is the governing body of the PLANTs, a civilian group of twelve elected officials, each representing his or her city of origin and each one a member of one of five subcommittees, which are: *The '''National Defense Committee is in charge of all military affairs, and its chairman is nominally the commander-in-chief of ZAFT, the PLANTs' militia. Ezalia Joule is currently Chairwoman of the National Defense Committee, having replaced the late Patrick Zala. *The Legislative Committee, '''as its name indicates, handles the implementation and enforcement of all laws approved by the Supreme Council. Ali Kasim is the name of the current Chairman of the Legislative Committee. *The '''Judicial Committee is in charge of the PLANTs' criminal justice system and courts, and as such works very closely with the Legislative Committee. Louise Leitner is the current Chairwoman of the Judicial Committee. *The Administrative Committee handles all administrative duties and much of the bureaucracy that allows the PLANTs' individual governments to run as well as coordinate between the twelve city governments and the Supreme Council. Orson White is the current Chairman of the Administrative Committee. *The Diplomatic Committee 'handles all affairs requiring communications and diplomatic relations between the PLANTs and their allies on Earth or the Earth Alliance. Eileen Canaver is currently the Chairwoman of the Diplomatic Committee. The other members of the Supreme Council are Alan Clarzec, Richard Schreiber, Eduardo Lee, Crister Oberge, Parnel Jesek, and George Adaman. All eleven Supreme Council Representatives ultimately report to the Chairman of the Supreme Council itself, a post which is held by Gilbert Durendal As of February C.E. 75, the membership of the PLANT Supreme Council is as follows: During the final weeks of the Second Junius War, Gilbert Durendal is deposed in a coup d'etat by Eileen Canaver and Ezalia Joule. After the war ends, Richard Schreiber retires and Eileen Canaver is elected the new Supreme Chairwoman of the Council. To replace Durendal and Schreiber, the Diplomatic Committee elects two new delegates: Taras Kazaevski of Februarius City, and Athrun Zala representing December City, with the latter becoming Chairman of the Diplomatic Committee. ZAFT '''Z.A.F.T. '('Z'odiac 'A'lliance of 'F'reedom 'T'reaty) was once a political entity called the Zodiac Alliance, whose stated goal was to establish the PLANTs as an independent nation. The Zodiac Alliance, was jointly founded by Patrick Zala and Siegel Clyne, and was eventually rechristened "ZAFT" and reorganized into the PLANTs' militia, commanded by Zala as the Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council's National Defense Committee. ZAFT is structured as a loose militia, and mostly lacks a formal rank structure, with the exception of Captains, which are the officers in command of a particular warship (whether a spaceship, land battleship, or submarine), and Commanders, who are the officers in overall command of a specific team, which usually consists of between two and three individual ships. Within ZAFT, individual teams are identified by their Commander's name, such as the Le Creuset Team, commanded by Rau Le Creuset until its dissolution, or the Joule Team, commanded by Yzak Joule. The ZAFT men's uniform consists of a uniform jacket worn over a plain white shirt, a pair of trousers, and knee-high boots. Female uniforms normally consist of a uniform jacket over a plain white shirt, a knee-length skirt, and ankle-high boots. A wide belt goes over the uniform jacket, which is worn closed, and the uniform may also include a hat or cap, the shape of which differs. However, different soldiers within ZAFT will wear uniforms of a particular color or cut denoting their position or role: *'''Green uniforms are worn by the vast majority of ZAFT's forces, including common soldiers or mobile suit pilots. The uniform is a dark olive green, with a black belt and white trim, including the cuffs of the sleeves and the epaulets, and a black belt and boots. The uniform jacket is short, stretching down to about the pelvis. The uniform also includes a hat, though it is seldom worn. Example: Dearka Elsman *'Black uniforms (short) '''are worn by enlisted personnel who are placed in command of a mobile suit squadron. These are identical to green uniforms in cut, save that the uniform is black instead of green, and the belt and boots are white. These typically have greater authority than ordinary Green uniform recruits, and as mobile suit team commanders may even have authority over red uniform. Example: Athrun Zala *'Red uniforms are reserved for élite pilots, typically the top ten percent of graduates from ZAFT's military academy. The uniform is dark red, with black trim, though the belt and boots are white. Reds have no more authority than regular green uniform recruits, but are typically treated with more respect due to their higher abilities. Female Reds usually wear uniforms that have been customized in some way. For instance, instead of the regulation knee-length skirt, Shiho Hahnenfuss wears trousers as men do, whereas Lunamaria Hawke takes it to the opposite extreme with a very short pink mini-skirt. *'Black uniforms (long) '''are worn by naval officers, including most ship captains. These are also black with grey trim, but the cut of the uniform jacket is longer, almost knee-length, and the simple hat is replaced by a more ornate officer's cap. Example: Arthur Trine *'White uniforms 'are identical in cut and style to Black(long) uniforms, except that they are white, with black trim, as well as black belt and boots. These are usually worn by particularly skilled or experienced Captains, or else by Team Commanders. In the latter case, the lapel and epaulets of the jacket are gold-trimmed. Example: Yzak Joule *'Purple uniforms are identical to White uniforms except in the primary color, which is a flat lavender color. These are seen much less frequently, and are worn by Flag officers and in some cases by members of the Supreme Council. Patrick Zala wore one with enlarged and ornamented epaulets. FAITH F.A.I.T.H. (F'ast '''A'cting 'I'ntegrated 'T'actical 'H'eadquarters) is an élite Special Forces unit of ZAFT, operating outside the typical chain of command. FAITH membership is awarded on an individual basis by the Chairman of the Supreme Council, and operatives of FAITH are answerable solely to the Supreme Council, giving them authority that supersedes most commanders in the field; in the field only another FAITH operative or the Council can countermand an order issued by a member of FAITH, and operatives are free to plan and carry out operations basically as they see fit. Known members of FAITH include Athrun Zala, Yzak Joule, and Heine Westenfluss. Shinn Asuka and Rey Za Burrel are both later made members of FAITH as well. The Clyne Faction After the election of Patrick Zala as Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council, the growing hostility and radicalization of the PLANTs' and ZAFT's actions led to an underground movement, led largely by ex-Supreme Council Chairman Siegel Clyne and his supporters, which supported a more conciliatory and peaceful course of action, and opposed the increasingly violent policies of Patrick Zala. Near the end of the Bloody Valentine War, it is this "Clyne Faction" which facilitated the incident in which Kira Yamato stole the new ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam, and later, after Siegel Clyne's murder at the hands of ZAFT forces under the command of Chairman Zala, the hijacking of the [[FFMH-Y101 Eternal|FFMH-Y101 Eternal]] by its intended commanding officer, Andrew Waltfeld. The Clyne Faction, as part of the Three Ship Alliance, proved instrumental in ending the Bloody Valentine War, after which they would take shelter in Orb, on Earth. In CE 75, after Lacus Clyne's assassination, Clyne Faction members Waltfeld, Kira, and Murrue Ramius would leave Orb with the [[LCAM-01XA Archangel|LCAM-01XA Archangel]], which would play a part in the events of the second war until its destruction. Following this, the remaining Clyne Faction members would be folded into Orb's space fleet and, operating from the ''Eternal ''as well as the Izumo-class ''Kusanagi, ''would play a role in ending the second war as well. As of the end of the Second Junius War, the Clyne Faction is effectively defunct. PLANT-Allied Nations Though the PLANTs themselves are an entirely space-based nation, they also have allies among the nations of Earth, which are: *The '''Oceania Union, consisting mainly of Australia and New Zealand. ZAFT's first and largest base on Earth, Carpentaria, is located on the northwestern shore of Australia. *The African Community, a loose confederation of nations and tribes spanning the northern two-thirds of the African continent, which also controls Gibraltar, where ZAFT maintains a second military base, allowing them to control access to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic. *The United States of South America were allied to the PLANTs prior to their forced annexation by the Atlantic Federation early in the Bloody Valentine War (see below). Late in the Second Junius War in C.E. 75, the USSA once again allies with the PLANTs. Earth Alliance The Earth Alliance is the group of superstates on Earth, politically and militarily opposed to the PLANTs. The Earth Alliance is not a uniform political entity, but rather a loose coalition of separate nations, some of which are hostile to each other. Largely, these are nations that initially sponsored the construction of the PLANTs, and who initially sought to bring the PLANTs under control through military force, at least until ZAFT deployed its mobile suits and the increasing influence of Blue Cosmos within the upper échelons of the Alliance led to the attempted genocide of the PLANTs late in the war. The members of the Earth Alliance are: *The Atlantic Federation '''is the most militarily powerful of the Alliance member nations and the ''de facto ''leader of the Earth Alliance. The Atlantic Federation's political and military command structure is filled with high-ranking officials who are members of the anti-Coordinator terrorist group Blue Cosmos or otherwise affiliated with ''Logos, ''a secretive cabal composed primarily of wealthy military-industrial leaders, and led by Teivel Jibril, the leader of Blue Cosmos. As a result, they are the most radically anti-Coordinator of Earth's nations, and have on a number of occasions stated their goal to be the total destruction of the PLANTs. The Atlantic Federation consists of the entirety of North America, plus Greenland, Iceland, and the British Isles. Its capital is Washington, D.C., in North America. Their military Headquarters is ''Heaven's Base'', in Iceland, since the destruction of the original Alliance GHQ in Alaska, '''JOSH-A(Jo'int '''S'upreme 'H'eadquarters - 'A'laska, pronounced "Joshua") during the Bloody Valentine War. The Atlantic Federation also controls the Porta Panama Mass Driver and its spaceport. Though Porta Panama was destroyed during the Bloody Valentine War, it has since been reconstructed. In space, the Atlantic Federation controls multiple lunar bases including Arzachel and Daedalus. It once had a major base at Ptolemaus, but this was destroyed during the Bloody Valentine War. *The '''Eurasian Federation '''is geographically the largest of the Alliance member nations and is the second most powerful militarily, consisting of the entirety of continental Europe (except Scandinavia) and Russia. They are rivals of the Atlantic Federation, and have been for decades. After the Bloody Valentine War, tensions between the two nations have increased. Since the election of its current President, the government of the Eurasian Federation has made significant strides towards excising Blue Cosmos loyalists from its government, and it has moderated its stance towards the PLANTs - President Baum's stated goal is a peaceful political cooperation between the two nations, as briefly existed at the PLANTs' foundation. However, Blue Cosmos/Logos loyalists within the Eurasian military remain numerous. Its political capital is Paris, and its military headquarters is Wilhelmshaven Naval Base in Germany. The Eurasian Federation originally had no lunar military facilities, but since the end of the first Bloody Valentine War has established a small lunar base at Theophilus - slightly larger than Daedalus, but far, far smaller than Arzachel. It also controls the asteroid fortress Artemis at Lagrange Point 3. *The '''Republic of East Asia is the third member nation, far weaker militarily than either Eurasia or the Atlantic Federation. Consisting primarily of China, Japan, the Korean peninsula and Taiwan. Its capital is Beijing, and its main military headquarters is the naval base at Zhanjiang. East Asia also controls Kaohsiung, one of the only true spaceports on Earth, as it is one of the few ports on Earth to be equipped with a Mass Driver. Its government is less dominated by Blue Cosmos than the Atlantic Federation, but it remains firmly opposed to the PLANTs. *'The '''South African Union '''is the weakest of the Alliance member nations. Like the Atlantic Federation, its government is very strongly anti-Coordinator, but it has few military forces. Its only real strategic value is that it controls the spaceport at Victoria, and with it the Habilis Mass Driver. *'The United States of South America, which were forcibly annexed by the Atlantic Federation in C.E. 70. Though the Treaty of Junius Seven nominally restored the USSA's independence, the Atlantic Federation military forces are firmly entrenched throughout the nation, and the conflict between the two nations continues. The government of the USSA is friendly towards the PLANTs. Following the end of the Second Junius War, a new government is elected in the Atlantic Federation which is allied with the Eurasian Federation, and Logos/Blue Cosmos is eliminated. This results in both a peace treaty ending the war and a long-term alliance between the Earth Alliance, Orb, and the PLANTs. OMNI Enforcer 'O.M.N.I. (O'ppose 'M'ilitancy and 'N'eutralize 'I'nvader) Enforcer is the name given to the Earth Alliance military, though it is often referred to simply as the Alliance Military or, occasionally by ZAFT soldiers as "The Earth Forces". It is a tightly organized fighting force based on a conventional military model, as it consists basically of the combined military forces of each member nation. Phantom Pain 'Phantom Pain '''is the name of the 81st Independent Battalion of the Atlantic Federation. Officially an irregular special forces unit, they have the authority to request assistance and supplies from any Alliance military facility, whose commanders are required to comply. In truth however Phantom Pain is a semi-official military arm of the military-industrial cabal ''Logos, ''which bankrolls the terrorist group Blue Cosmos as well as manipulating the upper command structure of the Atlantic Federation and other member states. With the destruction of Logos/Blue Cosmos during the Second Junius War, Phantom Pain is essentially defunct by the war's end. Blackbird Squadron '''Blackbird Squadron '''is the official code name of the Eurasian Federation's 501st Autonomous Mobile Corps, an elite special operations mobile suit squadron. The 501st was created by executive order in C.E. 72, shortly after the election of President Baum, and operates with limited oversight as a black-ops unit under the direct command of Vice-President Marshall. While conceptually and operationally similar to Phantom Pain, it is a true military unit with no official connection to either Logos or Blue Cosmos. The units of the 501st are easily recognizable by their distinctive black color scheme. Blue Cosmos/Logos Blue Cosmos was originally founded as an environmental activist group. Eventually, the group evolved into a radical anti-Coordinator terrorist organization with frighteningly wide-reaching influence, with its members occupying high-level positions in the political and military organizations of the Alliance. In truth, Blue Cosmos is controlled by, through its leader, a secretive cabal called ''Logos, ''composed of the leaders of most of Earth's arms manufacturers, creating a highly influential subversive military-industrial complex, which orchestrated the Bloody Valentine. Their influence is highest in the Atlantic Federation and South African Union, and they remain influential in the Republic of East Asia. As of C.E. 75, owing to reforms and changes made by President Baum and Vice-President Marshall, their influence in the government of the Eurasian Federation is nonexistent, but they continue to have a strong hold over its military. The Second Junius War sees the elimination of Logos, and the total elimination of their influence in the government of the Earth Alliance. Neutral Nations Though most nations on Earth are part of the Earth Alliance, there are a small number of countries that remain strictly neutral in the continued strife between the PLANTs and Earth. These are typically smaller countries that were not among the sponsor nations. Orb Union The United Orb Emirates, more often simply called the Orb Union, or else just Orb, is a small, wealthy and technologically advanced nation in the South Pacific, to the east of New Guinea. Orb has a long history of neutrality, summed up into three tenets: ''We will not attack another Nation; We will not allow another Nation to attack us; We will not intervene in the conflicts of other Nations. The Orb Union also controls the Kaguya spaceport and its mass driver. During the Bloody Valentine War, Orb secretly provided developmental assistance to the Alliance for the G-Weapon Development Project, culminating in the construction of the five prototypes at the colony Heliopolis, located at L-3. The colony was later destroyed by ZAFT. Later in the war, the Alliance attacked Orb, intent on seizing the mass driver and the facilities of Orb weapons developer Morgenröte. Lord Uzumi Nara Athha, then Chief Representative of Orb, destroyed the mass driver after evacuating most of Orb's people. In the ensuing years, many of the refugees returned, and the Kaguya spaceport and its mass driver were rebuilt. Orb is also noted as the only nation to attempt construction of an orbital elevator, named Ame-no-Mihashira. However, construction of the elevator was interrupted by the Bloody Valentine War, and the incomplete geosynchronous satellite that would have been at its top was finished out and refitted into an orbital space fortress, which served as a staging point for Orb's space fleet, and later much of its mobile suit forces. There are a number of important noble families in Orb, but the most influential are called the five ruling families. The Athhas, the Seirans, and the Sahaku families are three of the five, while the others are unknown. All of the Five have important positions in Orb's government or military. Orb is governed by a legislative body called the Council of Emirs. As of C.E. 75, the Council consists of the Chief Representative, Prime Minister, and six additional Council members. Known members of the Council as of C.E. 75 include Chief Representative Cagalli Yula Athha, Prime Minister Unato Ema Seiran, and Council member Yuna Roma Seiran Kingdom of Scandinavia A constitutional monarchy that spans the entirety of the Scandinavian Peninsula in northern Europe. Johann Lindemann, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Scandinavia, is renowned for his instrumental role in negotiating the terms of the Treaty of Junius Seven, most particularly the sections that place limits on the total number of weapons, mobile or otherwise, that could be owned by each nation. Following the departure of the Archangel from Orb, the Kingdom of Scandinavia secretly provided assistance to the ship until its destruction by ZAFT, and afterwards covertly aided its surviving crew members in evacuating back to Orb. Equatorial Union A militarily weak union of nations in South and Southeastern Asia, consisting primarily of the nations of the Indian subcontinent and most of the nations of the southern Pacific Ocean as far as Papua/New Guinea. During the first Junius War in C.E. 70-71, most evacuees from Orb made their way to the Equatorial Union, with many of them either returning to Orb or heading to the PLANTs, though some remained. As a result, despite its very weak military, the Equatorial Union has close ties with Orb.